Thesaurus results for COUNTERATTACKS

counterattacks

noun

variants or counter-attacks

plural of counterattack

as in attacks

an attack made to counter an enemy's attack suddenly the tide of battle turned, and the rebels, who had been falling back, made a furious counterattack

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of counterattacks United had two shots knocked off the goal-line and Leeds failed to make the most of its frequent counterattacks but neither could find the net again. —

ABC News, 13 Apr. 2026 Bassong continued in the midfield through 2025, bringing that same intense defensive presence while jump-starting counterattacks. —

Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 30 Mar. 2026 Launch units can reposition quickly, reducing vulnerability to counterattacks. —

Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 28 Mar. 2026 Considering that Iran has fired hundreds of missiles and drones at Israel for nearly a month, Israeli fatalities from Iran’s counterattacks have remained remarkably low thanks to the country’s air defense system, its early-warning sirens and publicly available bomb shelters. —

Rebecca Shabad, NBC news, 26 Mar. 2026 Oil and gas prices have soared this past month after Iran launched counterattacks that closed the Strait of Hormuz, cutting off about 20% of the world’s supply of oil from global markets. —

Mustafa Qadri, CNN Money, 26 Mar. 2026 Our Middle East allies and embassies are bearing the brunt of counterattacks. —

Letters To The Editor, The Orlando Sentinel, 18 Mar. 2026 Zelensky said late Monday that counterattacks by Ukrainian forces at eastern and southern points along the front line have wrecked Moscow’s plans for a March offensive. —

Jill Lawless, Los Angeles Times, 17 Mar. 2026 Swift and punishing counterattacks. —

Ken Sugiura, AJC.com, 15 Mar. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for counterattacks

Noun

Both Hezbollah and Israel have have defended their attacks and claimed that the other has violated the ceasefire.

— Sarah Dean, NBC news, 25 Apr. 2026
While disrupting the business of an American multinational company may seem a pallid response to the destruction of an Iranian primary school where more than a hundred children were killed, such asymmetric attacks in the physical and digital realms have been a feature of this conflict.

— Sue Halpern, New Yorker, 24 Apr. 2026